India-US trade deal first tranche likely by mid-July, says Piyush Goyal

India and the United States are moving towards finalising all remaining issues in their interim trade agreement, with both sides likely to execute the first phase of the pact by the middle of next month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

The minister said a US delegation was in New Delhi from June 2-4 to work towards finalising the agreement and held discussions with Indian negotiators.

“I also met with them yesterday, and we are fast moving towards closing all the open ends, and I think sometime by the middle of next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very, very vibrant first tranche…

“It is only the first tranche of our bilateral trade agreement, which will give preferential access to India over our competitors,” he told reporters here.

Goyal said a high-level US delegation is expected to visit India towards the end of this month.

The team is likely to be led by US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.

According to the commerce ministry, officials from both countries held constructive and positive discussions during this week’s talks in New Delhi across a range of issues, including trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, economic security alignment and other areas of mutual interest.

The US delegation was led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India’s chief negotiator was Darpan Jain, additional secretary in the Department of Commerce.

Following the finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA), both countries are now working on the details of the interim trade pact while continuing negotiations for the broader BTA.

India and the US had issued a joint statement on February 7 finalising the contours of the first phase of the BTA, also referred to as an interim trade deal.

Under that framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. It had removed the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods imposed for buying Russian oil and was to reduce the remaining 25 per cent to 18 per cent under the pact.

However, on February 20, the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs that had been imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Following that ruling, Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff on all countries for 150 days beginning February 24. The measure is due to end on July 24.

Against that backdrop, Indian and US officials met in Washington in April. An Indian delegation led by Jain visited the US from April 20-23, 2026, to continue negotiations.

The recent talks in New Delhi were aimed at carrying those discussions forward.

With the US tariff structure having changed since February, both sides may seek to revisit the framework of the agreement.

The February joint statement includes a provision allowing either country to modify its commitments if there are changes to the agreed tariff structures of the other side.

Under the framework, India proposed eliminating or reducing tariffs on all US industrial goods and a broad range of food and agricultural products. These include dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, along with additional products.

India has also indicated its intention to purchase USD 500 billion worth of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products and coking coal over the next five years.

When the framework was first agreed, India enjoyed a comparative tariff advantage over competitors such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

However, with all US trading partners now facing a uniform 10 per cent tariff, the agreement may require recalibration.

Securing a tariff advantage over competing nations remains an important objective for India in the negotiations.

Following the US Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, the US administration retains the option of using the Section 301 investigation mechanism to impose new tariffs.

According to sources, Washington could use this mechanism to encourage trading partners to negotiate trade agreements.

In March, the USTR launched two unilateral Section 301 investigations involving several countries, including India, concerning excess capacity and alleged failures to eliminate forced labour from global supply chains.

On June 2, the USTR proposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on 54 countries, including India, for allegedly failing to prohibit imports of goods produced with forced labour.

The proposal followed investigations launched in March against 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over forced labour concerns.

The USTR said the measure remains a proposal and has not yet been finalised. Interested parties may submit requests to appear at hearings and provide summaries of testimony by June 22. Hearings are scheduled for July 7.

The US was India’s second-largest trading partner in 2025-26.

India’s exports to the US rose 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last financial year, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion.

India’s trade surplus with the US stood at USD 34.4 billion in 2025-26, compared with USD 40.89 billion in 2024-25.